My Day as a Powerpuff Girl
by icekings
Summary: Told from POV of a 7 year old girl. An old story, never posted here because it was designed as a photoessay with pictures from a liveperformance PPG show. The original is here:   .
1. Default Chapter

  
  


My Day As A Powerpuff Girl - A Photo Essay by Susie Kew

  


A 'fantasy' fanfic by Gary Curtis (Icekings)

  


Powerpuff Girls created by Craig McCracken and all related characters owned by Cartoon Network

  
  
  


Author's note: I never posted this story here because it was designed AS a photo-essay, with pictures from an actual live-performance Powerpuff Girls show. If you'd rather see it in the original form, go here:  
  
http://www.geocities.com/icekings2000/MDAAPPG01.html

  
  
  


My name is Susie Kew and I am 7 years old. This is my story about how I got to be a Powerpuff Girl for a day. (In case you don't know who I am, I'm the kid who was snorkeling in my pool when Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles came over to invite me to their slumber party). My Dad took the pictures.

It all started one Sunday afternoon when a bunch of us girls in the neighborhood were playing hopscotch in the park. It was getting pretty close to supper time for some of us, so we decided to call it quits. We were all saying goodbye to each other for a few days, probably. I might not get to see the Powerpuffs until the next weekend because they go to Pokey Oaks Kindergarten and I go to Pokey Oaks Elementary, where I'm in the second grade; and they're pretty busy all week with school and saving the world and stuff.

So I was surprised when Buttercup whispered, "Hey, Susie, wait here 'til everyone else leaves, 'kay?"

I did, but I wondered what they wanted to talk to me about. They floated next to me as I walked the two blocks from the park to my house. "What's up?" I asked.

"We were wondering if you'd do us a favor." Bubbles said.

Me, do the Powerpuff Girls a favor? I couldn't think of how, but I said, "For you guys, I'd do anything. Just name it!"

"Well..." Blossom started. "I feel kinda funny saying this...but we're getting to be too popular around here."

"That's bad?" I asked. I knew they liked it when people cheered them, so it didn't make sense. Then, all of a sudden, it did. "What, somebody thinks your heads are getting too big and said something mean? Who was it? Tell me! I'll show them!"

But they all just started giggling.

"A _lot_ of people think our heads are too big." Buttercup laughed. "But that's not it."

"No, Susie, we try not to listen to meanies, anyway." Bubbles said. "We have a diff'rent problem."

"You see," Blossom began, "We're getting so popular that we're being asked to make public appearances. You know, like at shopping malls and stuff."

"Keeewwl!!" I shouted.

"Yeah, it is pretty cool." Buttercup agreed. 

"So what's the problem? And where do I come in?"

"The problem is, Susie," Blossom explained, "that we're getting popular _outside_ of Townsville, too. We can't make _everybody_ happy and do our job of saving the day, too."

"So the promoters came up with the idea to have kids dressed like us do it for us!" Bubbles said. She was real excited. 

"And if it works out OK, there'll be kids doing it all over the country!" Buttercup said happily.

"And you guys want _me_ to...?" I was so surprised and happy I couldn't finish my sentence. Then I thought of something and was worried that maybe they didn't think about it. "But, everyone'll know it isn't really you. Won't they be mad?"

Buttercup frowned at me. "Aw, c'mon! When you go to Townsville Mall to see Santa, do you _really_ think it's him?"

"'Course not, silly!" I laughed. "Everybody knows it's just one of his helpers 'cause the _real_ Santa's too busy and..."

"Exactly!" my three friends yelled.

"Oh, I get it now! But, why me?" I didn't go to school with them. I played with them after school, but I knew they had to have better friends than me.

Buttercup said, "We told 'em OK, but only if some of our friends got the chance to be us, here in Townsville."

"Only when we saw the costumes, we knew there was gonna be a problem." Blossom told me. "They were made for nine-year-olds. We think a lot of radio station people have nine-year-old daughters or something, because they told us they already had who they wanted."

Well, I might not be nine, but I'm big for seven. Lucky me.

"Did they complain much?"

Blossom said, "They weren't too happy, but I reasoned with them and they saw it my way."

"Nuh uh!" Bubbles complained. "It was 'cause I aksed them, 'Pretty please?"

Buttercup growled, "Ah, yer both full of it! It was because I gave 'em my 'Look of Death'!"

Blossom didn't like that and made a face at Buttercup, but she just said, "Susie, you're our only friend who's big enough. Will you do it?"

All of a sudden I was nervous about being in front of a bunch of strangers. I think they could tell.

"Aw, relax!" Buttercup said. "All you gotta do is just walk out on stage and wave. You don't have to say anything and they won't be putting wires on you and flying you around or nothin' dangerous."

Bubbles smiled at me. "'Sides, nobody'll know it's you in there!"

"Yeah." Blossom added. "That's one of the rules. You're _never_ 'sposed to take off your head in front of the audience." 

I wondered why that mattered, if everybody knew I was just one of the Powerpuff Girls' 'helpers'. But I didn't really care _that_ much.

We were to my house and I said, "If my Mom and Dad say it's OK, count me in!"

I ran inside. My Dad was reading the paper in the living room. I was so excited I'm not sure I was making any sense, but he just said, "Go ask your mother.", without looking up. 

My Mom was in the kitchen making dinner. "Go ask your father."

I ran back outside. "They said yes!"

"YAY!!"

"OK, which one of us do you wanna be?" Buttercup asked.

Uh, oh. I never thought about that. I could only be one of them. I didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings. So I did the 'eenie-meenie' thing and ended up on Bubbles. I was surprised that they all seemed to be just as happy. I guess it didn't matter to them because they knew it really wasn't going to be them.

"Great!" Blossom said. "It's next Saturday at Townsville Mall, near the food court. There's two shows, at eleven and one, but they want you there at nine so you can get dressed and they'll explain everything to you."

"Yeah." Buttercup continued. "They're gonna have like a tent or something set up in back of the stage for you."

"With pizza and ice cream and cookies!" Bubbles cried happily.

"Wow!" I said. "Too bad you guys won't be there."

"Oh, we'll be there." Buttercup said. "No way are we missing out on all that good stuff!"

Blossom made it make sense for me. "We'll just be in the mall office, watching it on TV. They don't want anybody seeing us."

"Oh, goodie! I'm glad you're gonna be there. I'll be less nervous that way. I hope I don't mess things up!"

"Don't worry, Susie, you're gonna do just fine!" Bubbles told me. Then her eyes got real big. "Hey, what was _that_?"

"I heard it, too, Bubbles!" Blossom said. "It's the professor picking up the phone!"

"Oh boy!" Buttercup shouted. "Cheeseburgers!" And she took off.

"Pizza!" Bubbles yelled, and followed her.

"Chinese!"

Blossom took off, too. They all turned and waved. "'Bye, Susie! Thank you!"

I waved and thanked them, too, but I didn't think it was enough. This was going to be the biggest day in my life and I knew the next week was going to go by _real_ slow.

  
  
  



	2. Ch 2

  


My Day As A Powerpuff Girl  
Page 2

  
  
Well, the week went by a _lot_ faster than I thought it would. Saturday came before I knew it. Of course, I had explained it all again to my parents, who couldn't remember me telling them about it. But they were OK with it. My Dad had the camera all ready and we got in the car. 

When we got to the food court, there was a stage set up right where the wing met one of the big, long shopping areas. It had big speakers set up on both ends of it and it was all decorated with Powerpuff Girls posters. There was a big TV screen on the stage, too. They had the part of the floor by the stage blocked off so that people couldn't get too close to it, which made me happy. Out away from the stage there was another stack of speakers. I knew the girls had a music CD called 'Heroes and Villains', so I was hoping that's what the speakers were for.

Behind the stage, there was like a small room set up that was all covered over with black cloth so people couldn't see in. There was a flap on it so it really was like a tent, just like Buttercup told me. I heard some people inside it talking. That was where I was supposed to be. My Mom and Dad left me there, saying they were going shopping for a little bit and they'd be back in time to watch me.

I stuck my head inside and a pretty lady, all dressed up, said, "Oh, you must be Susie! Come on in!"

There were a whole bunch of people in there, and right away I stopped feeling nervous because they were all nice. There was that lady; she was from the radio station that talked about the show all week. It was in all the papers, too. There were three teenage girls that were there to help each of us go out on stage and come back, because the heads of the costumes were actually going to be over our heads. We would be inside just the bodies and the bottom parts of the heads, and wouldn't be able to see at all, so they were there to make sure we didn't fall off the stage or anything. There were some guys wearing jeans and T-shirts who kept going in and out. They were the ones setting up all the TV and sound stuff to make sure it all worked. There were two older guys, both dressed in suits. One guy was from the radio station, too, and he was going to run the show, introducing us and getting the crowd all pumped up. The other guy was from the cable company. They had something to do with getting this idea going all over the country, if today went OK.

Then there were my two 'sisters' for a day. Blossom was right. One was the daughter of the radio guy; her name was Lindsey and she was 9. She was going to be Buttercup. Ashley was 10 and was already in the Blossom costume with the head off. The guy from the cable company was her dad. I also found out they were cousins. They were both really friendly and told me I was lucky to actually _know_ the Powerpuff Girls. They were right about that!

Ashley and Lindsey already knew what they were supposed to do, but they sat patiently while I was told what I was supposed to do. They even helped explain it to me. I could tell we were going to have a lot of fun. I could hear it getting noisier outside. People were starting to show up and I could hear little kids yelling, laughing, running, and even a few were crying. I wasn't nervous at all anymore. They weren't here to stare at me and make me afraid; they were here to see the Powerpuff Girls.

The time went by fast. It was already 10:30 and I got into my costume. We had to be used to them before we went onstage in a half-hour. Just then, an old lady pushed her way in through the flap. It surprised everybody.

The radio station lady said, "I'm sorry, ma'am, you can't come in here."

But the old lady just pushed her out of the way and with her other hand, ripped off the wig she had on. It was Mojo Jojo, the evil monkey!

He must have been hanging around in his disguise, watching, because he waited until all the setup guys were out of the room. Everybody jumped, and Ashley's and Lindsey's dads got in front of them to protect them. The radio lady got in front of me. Mojo waved a laser gun at us.

"What do you want, Mojo?" Lindsey's dad said. He was mad. "There's nothing of value here!

Mojo looked right at Ashley. 

"What I want is for _you_ to get out of that costume!

Ashley's dad said, "If it's the costumes you want, take them!"

"No way, Dad!" Ashley compalined. "I've been waiting all week for this and no stupid baboon is gonna ruin it for me!"

Mojo didn't like that. He aimed the laser right at her. "Silence, you accursed kid, and furthermore, SHUT UP!"

"It's OK, honey." her dad said. "He can have them. We've got extra suits for you to wear."

"I do not desire to remove the accursed suits from this location!" Mojo said, shaking his other fist. He got mad awful easy. "I wish to get inside _that_ one, which I cannot do while _you_ are in it, as they were not designed to comfortably accomodate two beings. So GET OUT!"

Ashley started getting out, but she wasn't too happy about it. "You make a stupid Blossom."

"Don't I wish." he mumbled under his breath. "For if she were stupid then she would not be intelligent and cause me such headaches." He rubbed his head like she was giving him one right then. He started waving the gun at everybody while trying to get into the suit at the same time. "Who is in charge here?"

"I am." said Lindsey's dad.

"That is incorrect! I am in charge, and do not forget it! Now, carry on and just pretend that I'm not here." He looked at Ashley. "You may do the afternoon show. That is, if anyone is still around to watch it! Muahahahaha!!!"

"What are going to do?" the lady said. "Blow up the mall with everyone in it?"

"No!"

Lindsey said, wide-eyed, "Hold everyone hostage for all the money in Townsville?"

Mojo rubbed his chin and said, "Hmmm. That's not a bad idea, but no."

"Turn everyone into zombies and rob all the stores?" asked Ashley.

"Oh, for goodness sake, NO!" Mojo yelled. "I have devised a scheme to commit the most evil deed ever seen in the history of Townsville! I will go out on that stage and I, Mojo Jojo, will remove Blossom's head!"

"Noooo!!" everybody gasped.

"Yeeessss!!! All those stupid people out there came to see you little brats dressed up like the Powerpuff Girls, and what is even more stupid is that most of them believe that you _are_ the Powerpuff Girls. So when they see me take off Blossom's head, revealing me, Mojo Jojo, their dreams will be crushed and the Powerpuff Girls will be finished in Townsville! Muahahahahahaa!!!"

"You'll never get away with it, Mojo!" I yelled at him. "The _real_ Powerpuff Girls are at the mall office watching the whole thing and all one of us has to do is scream for help when we go out there!"

He looked surprised, but only for second. "Ahhh, that is PERFECT! When the real Powerpuff Girls show up and people see them with what they _thought_ were the real Powerpuff Girls, they will become confused, and being confused, they will not know what is happening! Then, the Powerpuff Girls' plan to take this plan elsewhere will fail and they will be finished in the rest of the world!"

He saw us all staring at him and said, "Hey, I read the papers too, you know! Now, Mister Microphone," he said to Lindsey's dad, "go out there and get them to give it up for the Powerpuff Girls! And no tricks!"

Mojo had this one all figured out. There was nothing any of us could do. Lindsey's dad went out. Ashley's dad tried to comfort her. She was upset at losing her chance to be Blossom. Mojo peeled the curtain back some and we could see all the people out there. There were _lots_ of them. I could see mostly girls, but there were some boys, too. A lot of the girls had Powerpuff Halloween costumes on and some of them were waving Powerpuff dolls. I wondered if my Dad was out there with his camera.

(He was. My parents didn't think there'd be so many people and they stayed shopping too long. It took him a while to get near the stage. Here's a couple pictures he took of kids in their Powerpuff costumes.)

Mojo let go of the curtain and said, "Somebody help me put this thing on!"

The lady helped him. Blossom's head went on awful hard over that stupid big thing he wore, and he grouched and complained the whole time. Ashley's dad told us to just do what Mojo said out there and to not worry. Ashley got even a little. She kicked Mojo hard in the leg and he felt it even through the costume.

"Ow, you stupid kid! Do that again and I'll shoot you with my laser!"

She kicked him again and I heard something inside his costume fall down and hit the floor. I think it was his gun. Way to go Ashley!

"Curses! Ah, no matter! My plan cannot fail!"

Lindsey and I put our heads on and it was time to go out. Already, the music from the CD was playing and I found out that the TV on the stage was showing videos of the real Powerpuffs in action. We could hear Lindsey's dad firing everyone up and kids were starting to yell 'We want the Powerpuff Girls!'

There were stairs leading up to the stage and one of the teenagers led Mojo up them. He was going out first. The song 'Signal In The Sky' was playing, it's one of my favorites, and Lindsey's dad introduced Blossom. A big cheer went up. Nobody knew the truth.

Lindsey went out next and I was right behind her. We could hear each of the girls' fans calling out the names of their favorite one, but just barely, the music was so loud.

We had to practically shout to hear each other over the music. The first thing I did was get my helper to walk me to the front of the stage. I counted the steps, so I would know how far I could go without falling off.

"Don't worry about that noise." my helper told me. "It's just some little smoke bombs they lit."

I couldn't hear it, anyway. I wanted to get to the side and keep Mojo stuck in the middle between Lindsey and me, so I guessed once we traded places, I would have about as much room to my left as to the front and still be safe. I was coming up with a plan in my head.

I never dreamed when my friends asked me to do this, that I might get the chance to do what a _real_ Powerpuff Girl does and save the day!

  



	3. Ch 3

  


My Day As A Powerpuff Girl  
Page 3

  
  


They were playing the Buttercup theme, 'I'm a Super Girl'. Well, if I was going to save anything, I would have to do something super, and fast. Mojo wasn't going to wait forever to spoil the party. I couldn't see anything except my feet when I looked straight down. I moved over to my right until I saw Lindsey's feet. I could hear my helper telling me to stop and felt her pulling me back to the left, but I yelled to her that it was OK, I had an idea to stop Mojo. I told Lindsey we were going to play 'Monkey in the Middle' and I was going to switch places with Mojo, and that whatever she did, to make sure that Mojo didn't try to get past her. I think my helper heard me, because after that she just took me right over to the other side of the stage. I was hoping she told the other two teenagers what was going on.

I got closer to Mojo. He was yelling, but I don't think anybody in the crowd heard him because of the music and the cheering.

"Curses! This accursed head will not come off, therefore I can't remove it!"

"You don't _want_ to take it off, Mojo." I said.

"Which one of you stupid brats said that? When I get this off, I will-"

I know it's rude to interrupt somebody when they're talking, but I thought it would be OK just this once. "It's me, Bubbles. No, Mojo, you'll be making a _big_ mistake if you do!"

"Oh yeah? And what makes you think that I would listen to an ersatz Powerpuff Girl Bubbles?"

I didn't know what that meant. (I do now. My Mom had to help me spell it. She helped me with this story a _lot_.) But it sounded like something mean and I got even madder than I already was.

"Because, Mojo, there's something _worse_ than the real Powerpuff Girls waiting for you if you do!"

"Oh, dear, I am shaking in my boots, which might actually be possible were I really afraid of you, and if they were not also stuck in this accursed costume! What could possibly make me tremble in fear of you, besides nothing?"

"Because, Mister Mean Monkey, there's hundreds of girls out there just waiting for you. Hundreds of them! They're weak, helpless, and scared normal little girls. Useless, normal little girls who can't do anything, because they are normal!"

I remembered exactly everything he said that night he wrecked my friends' sleepover. How could I forget? I was hoping he would remember it, too.

"Muahahahahaa!! Indeed they are! But wait! Why do those words sound so familiar?"

"Because I know who you are..._Mojecia!_"

"What? No!"

"Yeah, and guess what else, monkey man? Right behind us in the mall is a store called 'The Slumber Center', and I bet it's just _full_ of nice, fat pillows! So, go ahead, take it off!" I took a few steps toward him.

"No! Please, anything but that!"

I couldn't tell for sure what happened next, but it sounded like he went toward Lindsey and she pushed him back toward me. Then, I guess our helpers 'helped' him, because he yelled, "Help, get me out of here!" 

Then I heard Lindsey's dad say into the microphone, "Whoa, it looks like Blossom went to answer the hotline!"

It sounded like Mojo went offstage back into the dressing room. The helpers told us to keep dancing around to the music and waving, so we did, but we couldn't tell _what_ was going on back there. 'Pray for the Girls' was coming out of the speakers and it made me laugh. It was always the bad guys who needed the help.

The next thing I knew, there was a loud yell by a bunch of people in the audience. "Mojo! It's Mojo Jojo!" Then, there was a _really_ loud cheer. It was Ashley inside the Blossom costume! She was on stage with us! Somehow, they got it off of Mojo. I found out later that he ran screaming out of the tent, away from the food court and into the mall. But not before Ashley gave him a couple more kicks!

It was great! Everybody came to see the 'Powerpuff Girls', but I bet none of them dreamed they'd see what they did. The day was saved!

Lindsey's dad never missed a beat. "Whoa! Was that Mojo Jojo that just ran out of here? Way to go, Blossom!" he said into the microphone, and the place went _nuts_! We danced onstage to the music and waved to people we couldn't see. They let kids come up on the stage to pose with us for pictures, too. I was starting to get hot inside the costume.

Then, Lindsey's dad said, "With all that excitement, I bet the girls are hungry! They're going to take a short lunch break, folks. Be back here at one for the next show!"

Our helpers got us back into the dressing room and we got out of our costumes. I couldn't believe it! Sitting on a chair were Mojo's boots, his ray gun and that thing he wears on his head! He must have looked funny running away with his brain sticking out! Me and Lindsey right away asked Ashley what happened and everybody was talking at once. Their dads hugged them, because they must have been scared, too, what with Mojo being right there and them not being able to do anything.

But Lindsey pulled away and said, "Aw, Dad, I wasn't afraid, after Ashley kicked Mojo and Susie told me she had a plan to stop him!"

They all looked at me, but right then our lunch got delivered. While we had pizza and sodas and fresh fruit and cookies and ice cream, I told them about what happened at the slumber party. They all thought it was really funny, especially the radio station lady. She couldn't stop laughing!

Then, Lindsey told us that when Mojo came over to her, she said, "Don't mess with me, Mojo, or I'll kick your butt!"

Me and Lindsey (and her dad and our helpers, too, because they were out with us), found out that Mojo fell down the steps trying to get off the stage. Ashley's dad had to pull real hard to get the boots out of the costume, and the helmet, too, so Ashley could hurry up and get in it. That's when Ashley kicked Mojo again, just before he ran out. He didn't care that he was leaving his stuff behind, he just wanted to get out of there!

"Hey," I said to Ashley and Lindsey. "Did anyone tell you guys if you'd get to meet the girls?"

"Yeah!" Ashley said. "We're going over to the mall office after the show!"

"Cool! Maybe they'll autograph those boots for you for souvenirs!"

I was wondering just what the Girls were thinking when they saw Mojo; if they knew it was really him or if they thought it was just part of the show. I found out. The old lady came in through the flap again!

Mojo whipped off the disguise and held up one hand. Funny, he had a new helmet and boots, but no laser this time. He was looking right at Ashley. "No, please, do not kick me!"

Lindsey grabbed the laser off the chair and pointed it at him. "If you came to get your stuff back, you can't have it!"

He waved his hand. "Oh, you can keep them. I get them by the truckload."

Ashley's father looked mad. "Oh, then you're here to aplogize to these kids for frightening them?!"

"_What?_ It is _they_ who should be apologizing to _me_! But no, I am here because the Powerpuff Girls apprehended me outside of the mall and told me I could either go to jail or come back here and be in the second show."

He paused and pointed at Ashley. "I agreed, very reluctantly...providing _that_ one does not touch me!"

We all laughed, except for Mojo. Ashley and Lindsey decided to trade places for the next show. Mojo sat down and didn't look too happy, and he _really_ looked upset when the lady asked him to have a banana. He went 'Hmmph!', but then said he _would_ have some pizza. Then, it was time to get ready, and Lindsey's dad went back out to get the crowd pumped. I was hoping my dad would get some good pictures. I told the girls about how I counted my steps so I'd know where I was onstage, and Ashley's dad thought that was a great idea. He said he'd put it in the 'package', whatever that meant. I think he meant so that when they do the show in other places, they can do the same thing.

After a few minutes, it was time to go out, and our helpers took us up the steps one by one. I was first, then Lindsey (as Blossom this time) and Ashley. To me, the cheering sounded even louder than before. Maybe it was because I was more used to it, wasn't thinking about the trouble we were in before, and was just paying attention to what I was doing. Now we could just have fun.

We were just waiting for Lindsey's cue to go back and 'take care' of Mojo.

"What's that?" I heard her dad say. "Sounds like the hotline!"

One of the sound guys must have done something in a hurry, because I heard a loud buzzing sound that really _did_ sound like the _real_ hotline! The crowd cheered while me and Ashley waved, waiting for 'Blossom' to do her stuff.

"Oh, look!" Lindsey's dad told the audience. "It's the evil Mojo Jojo, trying to spoil the Girls' big day! But there he goes! Hooray for Blossom!"

They went crazy over that. I knew probably a lot of them saw it the first time, but there were some kids who missed the first show.

Lindsey came back out and got a big 'Hooray!'. Things wouldn't have gone very good without all the help the teenagers gave us. I bet it was fun for them, too. It sounded like everybody was having a good time out there.

We finished up like we did in the morning, with kids coming up to stand with us and get their pictures taken.

  


All too soon, they were playing the Powerpuff Girls Theme and the show was over. I'll never forget the sounds of the cheering in my ears. While we were getting out of the costumes, we could hear everyone leaving. It was a day those kids who came wouldn't forget right away, and I know I'll _never_ forget it.

We talked some. Mojo was so convincing when he left the second time, because Lindsey smacked him! She said it was because Mojo said Ashley couldn't hit him again, so that's why they decided to switch costumes! Her dad scolded her, saying she shouldn't have after he was nice enough to sign his boots for them. But I don't think he was really mad, because he was laughing with the rest of us.

We said goodbye to the girls that helped us and the lady, and then me and my parents and Ashley, Lindsey and their dads went over to the mall office to meet my friends. On the way, I told my folks what happened and we all laughed some more.

When we got there, I introduced my old friends to the new ones I made that day.

"You guys were _awesome_!" Buttercup told us.

Bubbles asked, "Weren't you scared when Mojo showed up?"

"Heck no!" we answered at the same time.

Blossom looked at me, all surprised. "Susie, what did you _do_ to him? He was shaking like a leaf when we caught him!"

I told them the story and they cracked up.

Buttercup was holding her stomach, she was laughing so hard. "Aw, man, I wish I could have seen his face when you called him Mojecia!"

"Us, too!" the three of us laughed.

Ashley turned to her father. "Dad, can't you make those things so that the next girls can see out of them?"

"Not without putting holes in them, and they wouldn't look right. But with Susie's idea (he smiled at me), I think everything will go just fine. Girls, I think these shows will be a big hit wherever they are."

They were excited to hear that and wanted to know what my idea was, and Ashley's dad told them.

Blossom asked, "You really think people outside of Townsville will want to go when most of them know it's not really us?"

Lindsey's dad said, "Blossom, how many of those kids out there today do you think believed that was really you up there?"

"I dunno. Not many, probably."

"You're probably right. But they came anyway. That's because they weren't thinking that it wasn't you. Why do you think so many of them were wearing your costumes and holding your dolls?"

"I always wondered about that." Bubbles said.

"Me too." Buttercup added. "Why _do_ they?"

"Because for the little while they're playing, they get to _be_ you. Those kids weren't thinking it was somebody else in those costumes. It was _them_ up there on that stage, _them_ up there on the videos on the TV screen. I bet even some of those grownups out there sometimes wish they could be superheroes."

"Whoa." the girls said.

"Guys?" I said. "I think he's right. I'm luckier than most kids because I get to be your friend, but sometimes I wish I could be you, too. And you know what? For a little while, I _was_!"

"You sure were!" Buttercup laughed. "All of ya!"

We talked and laughed for a few more minutes and the Girls signed their names on Mojo's boots for Ashley and Lindsey.

Blossom saw the laser and said, "I'd better take this. These things can be dangerous."

Then it was time for everyone to go home. I said goodbye to my new friends and we promised to keep in touch. My old friends I knew I'd be seeing a lot of.

Well, that's my story. I did a lot more than just have fun the day I got to be a Powerpuff Girl. I found out how lucky I am to have the friends I do. I discovered that when you think about doing the right thing and forget about being scared, you can do things you never, ever thought you could. But the most important thing I learned about that day is the power of playing pretend.

  


* * *

  
  
  


Author's notes: This story is based a tiny bit on fact. The pictures, I took in November 2000 at Eastview Mall outside of Rochester, NY. There was a sizable crowd that Saturday morning for the two shows; a much larger crowd than I expected. And the shows were well received, AND very loud! The layout I described as accurately as my memory would allow. The 'Girls' moved about a bit stiffly; I believed it was because they couldn't see a thing. Bubbles was the most animated of the three. The girls inside were, from what I heard, all about nine and connected somehow to the promoters of the show, an FM station and the local Time-Warner cable provider. Besides making up the name for the girl from 'Slumbering With the Enemy', I chose the names of my great-nieces Ashley and Lindsey, who are ten and nine and are, indeed, cousins (and would both not be afraid to give Mojo a few good wallops!).

Gary Curtis

January 2002


End file.
